What a Difference a Year Makes

Andrew grinned, but suddenly turned serious. "I'll never forget what you've done for me, especially this week." Tears streaming down his face, he pulled Chris close into a deep hug. "I love you."

"That's all right. Love means letting your best friend get tears stains all over your silk t-shirt," Chris said to lighten the mood. It worked. Andrew pulled back, wiping the tears from his eyes and laughed. He pulled Chris back into a quick hug.

"I'll miss you," Andrew said.

"Me, too."

That drive back to Florida, was the longest Andrew had ever experienced. Each mile seemed to take hours to cross, and as he finally crept closer and closer to home, the anxiety over his mother worsened. He had, by this point, spoken to her a few times on the phone, but she was heavily medicated and very weak. His father had assured Andrew that she was improving and that the doctors were already starting to revise their initial negative diagnosis; they now thought that she would regain at least some use of her legs. However, Andrew could sense the stress and fear in his father's voice. After what seemed like days instead of the 12 hours it actually was, Andrew pulled up to the hospital. He had gone straight there instead of dropping his stuff of at home first.

Without too much trouble, he made it to the intensive care waiting room where he saw most of his family: his dad, brother Brandon, 15, and Carla and Charlotte, the 13 year old twins. Only his baby brother Dale, who had just turned 4 was missing. He ran to his father, who drew him into a deep hug. After a moment, he pulled loose and hugged Brandon, who submitted for a brief moment, rolling his eyes. Then the twins pounced on their handsome big brother, smothering him in kisses in tears.

After a moment, his father turned to Andrew, "Visiting hours for I.C.U. aren't for a bit yet. Let's go somewhere more private and talk." Turning to Brandon and the girls, he said, "We'll be back soon. Now stay here and behave." He directed Andrew out of the big waiting area to a small private seating area just down the hall.

"You'll need to prepare yourself, son," Ned Conner said, his eyes in pain. "You'll be shocked when you see her... she's pretty banged up, but the doctors are confident that she'll be pretty much okay eventually. But it's going to take a long time, and there will be a lot of rehabilitation and physical therapy."

"Will insurance pay for this?"

"Some," Ned sighed. "But there will still be a lot that we have to pay. Our insurance people have been working with the insurance for the company the driver worked for, but even though it was the truck driver's fault, they are playing hardball and it may be a long time, if ever, they pay. Our insurer has suggested we get a lawyer. Shit," he said, dropping his head and putting his hand over his eyes. " I feel like such an asshole. Rachel's lying in intensive care, and I'm talking about bills and lawsuits."

"Dad," Andrew leaned forward, putting his hand on his father's knee. "You're not an asshole. You have every right to be concerned; you've got 4 kids to take care off, which I know wasn't easy even before this. But don't worry," he continued as his dad looked up with a faint smile,

"I'm here. I called Uncle Bob on the way and told him I wouldn't be coming. He said he would have my job waiting whenever I'm ready. Dad," he said as Ned started to protest, "you can't handle 4 kids, work, medical bills, and taking care of mom alone. I'll worry about Dallas after Mom is better."

In tears, Ned gathered his oldest son to him, whispering, "Thank you, son. Thank you."

Andrew was horrified when he finally saw his mom, looking tiny and shriveled in the hospital bed with tubes running everywhere. "Mom," he whispered, gathering her hand in his. Her eyes opened, and he released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. They were hazed with pain and meds, but he could see her essence was intact. "My baby boy," she said softly, stroking his hand. "My sweet baby boy."

Andrew quickly found a job on the landscaping crew at the university. It was brutal labor in the hot Florida sun, but its 6:00 a.m. start time meant he was free in time to pick up his brother and sisters after school, plus even though he was mainly grunt labor, he figured at least it was experience in his field. His days soon settled into a routine. Up by 4:30 so he could put together breakfast for the family, and pack their lunches, and off to work by 5:30. He biked to work unless it rained, hating to waste even a few precious dollars on gas, when a little manpower would get him there for free. Off at 2:30, picking up the kids a little after 3:00 in mom's SUV. Then a couple of hours of driving Brandon, Carla and Charlotte to their various extra-curricular activities. While he was out with the kids, dad would start dinner after picking up Dale at daycare. After eating, Dad would take over homework duty, while Andrew staggered downstairs to his basement bedroom, where he was usually out like a light by 9:30 at the latest. Saturday and Sunday allowed him a bit more sleep time, but both days were filled with chores, laundry, grocery shopping, soccer games, etc.

But it was all worth it. Andrew had always appreciated what great parents he had, especially after hearing so many horrible coming out stories from friends. His parents had accepted his being gay with no condemnation, recriminations, or tears. They had both hugged Andrew and assured him that they loved him exactly as he was and always would. He hadn't been as appreciative of his younger siblings, though.

Andrew had been a "prom night baby," conceived when his mother was 17, his father 18. Both sets of parents had been set against their marrying, but Ned and Rachel had eloped the day she turned 18. Rachel had always wanted a large family, but they put off having more children until Ned had graduated with his accounting degree and started working a good job. Then had come Brandon and the twins. Dale had been a surprise, one that was gladly welcomed, ironically conceived on Andrew's prom night while the younger kids were visiting grandparents. After seven years as an only child, Andrew hadn't been pleased when he found out his mother was having another son. While he had come to grudgingly love his younger siblings, with his being so much older and having spent the last four years away in school, he didn't really know them. But now, after spending so much time with them, he was feeling close. But damn, he never realized having kids meant so much work, not to mention so much time in a car.

"Jesus, Mom," he said, sitting beside as she lay in bed after coming home from the hospital. "How did all this work not put you in the hospital long before this? There's two of us, Dad and me, and we can barely do what you did alone."

"Now you know," she said, her hazel eyes twinkling. "I planned this all just so I could lay around in bed all day."

"You're a nut," he said, leaning over and kissing her forehead.

Rachel continued to improve, and within 6 months of leaving the hospital was up and about even though she was moving slowly and was depending on a walker. The family had ended up finding a lawyer who was confident that they would receive a decent settlement after discovering the driver who hit Rachel had been both under trained by the company he worked for and over-scheduled in terms of driving hours. However, the trucking company and their insurer had dug in their heels, and finalizing the settlement dragged on. Andrew never regretted his decision to move back and help out, but there were definitely times his spirits were low after a particularly grueling day or a seemingly endless afternoon spent driving around sullen teens, or his mother having on of her bad days. It was those times that Chris was his bright spot. They spoke daily on the phone, at least once in the morning and once at night, but they texted throughout the day, and Chris seemed to have an extra sense about when Andrew needed a lift. It seemed that anytime Andrew was feeling like he couldn't go on, his phone would ding and there would be a text from Chris. They were nothing special, maybe a "just thinking about you" or a link to one of those stupid cat videos Chris loved. Still, one of those texts would bring a smile to Andrew's face no matter how awful his day. He especially appreciated them considering that's Chris's own life hadn't gone as planned.

Soon after Andrew had settled into his new routine, he had learned that Chris's own plans for Dallas had been put on hold. It seems that his friend's father had been betrayed by his business partner who had taken most of the construction company's liquid assets and disappeared to avoid gambling debts. Chris's family was on the verge of bankruptcy and his father needed him to help in the business, so Chris had traded an apartment and job in Dallas for sleeping in his childhood bedroom and working twelve hour days on construction sites. In fact, this is how their daily morning calls started. Even though 4:30 a.m. was definitely earlier than even he liked, Andrew was definitely a morning person, and had spent most of their time living together waking Chris for his various classes. Hearing that his friend would need to be up by 5:30 to make it to the work site by 7:00, Andrew decided to be his personal wakeup call.

At 5:29 a.m., the first time he dialed the familiar number. Andrew knew Chris well enough to know that if he needed to wake up at 5:30, his friend would actually set the alarm for 5:40, figuring 10 extra minutes wouldn't matter.

"Hello?" a confused, sleep blurred voice finally answered after several rings.

"Good morning, sunshine," Andrew chirped.

"Andrew? What the...do you need something?"

"Nope. Just decided to call and make sure your lazy ass gets out of bed on time."

"Asshole," Chris said. Then, "Thanks. Well, if I have to get out of bed at this ungodly hour, at least talking to you makes it almost worth it. Almost."

They chatted briefly and hung up. After that, Andrew called Chris every work day morning to make sure he was up, even on Saturdays when Chris worked but he did not. And, Andrew admitted to himself, starting the day with a conversation with Chris definitely made the day better.

One day, about 10 months after the accident, Andrew walked into the kitchen to find his mother making dinner. At this point, she had graduated to using a cane and could stand unassisted for short periods. After so much inactivity, she had started to slowly resume as many of her old tasks as she could handle. Andrew walked behind her, giving her a hug, and peering over her shoulder to peek into the pot she was stirring.

"Oh my God, that smells. Amazing. I am so glad to have you back in the kitchen. Dad did he best, but..." here he paused and looked around to make sure Ned wasn't in earshot and continued in a whisper, "his cooking sucks so bad.:"

Rachel laughed and pushed him away. She turned and looked at him. "You must have been talking to Chris," she said.

"How did you know?" he said, surprised.

"I can always tell. Afterwards, you... I don't know...you get this glow." She turned back to the pot, stirring. "Are you sure you are just friends?"

"Mooooom"

Turning back to look at her blushing son, she said "i'm just saying. I mean I like to talk to my friends, but I don't glow afterwards." Noticing Andrew's eyeroll, she shrugged. "I just think what you have with Chris is special, and I don't want you to miss an opportunity. Now, would go get one of the other hellions to set the table? Dinner is in 15."

Later, as Andrew lay in his bed trying to sleep, he thought about his conversation with his mother. God, he was confused. Chris was just his friend, right? He wasn't really Andrew's type, but Andrew had to admit that after living with Chris he had started to notice things like how pink and full his lips were, and he had more than once had a twinge of regret that he had only kissed them as a joke. And who couldn't help but notice those big blue eyes. Andrew had also noticed the play of Chris's large calf muscles beneath the smooth tan skin, as well as the shifting of his very nice ass when Chris had dragged him on Saturday hikes. And nobody could hug or cuddle like Chris. Shit!! Andrew realized he had chubbed up thinking about Chris. His sleep was restless that night.

About six weeks after the talk with his mother, Andrew came home to chaos. Brandon and the twins were literally running around in circles, whooping, and his eyes widened as he noticed his father stepping out of the kitchen with a bottle of Champagne.

"What happened?" he said with raised eyebrows.

"The lawyer just called. We've reached a settlement, and now we are going to celebrate," his dad said, opening the china cabinet and pulling out Rachel's good champagne flutes.

It was a reason to celebrate. While the settlement wasn't huge, it was, even after the lawyer's cut, large enough to settle the medical bills, as well as provide a cushion for the next year or so. After they had celebrated with the champagne and pizza (Rachel had very strict views on proper diet and nutrition, so pizza in the Conner household was a rare treat worthy of celebration itself), Ned and Rachel asked Andrew to come talk to them in their room. By this point, Rachel was walking unassisted, though slowly and with a slight limp. As they settled into the bedroom's small seating area, Andrew looked at them expectantly.

"Son," his dad began. "We can't begin to thank you enough for what you've done over the past year. We could never have made it through without you." At this point, his mother reached over and grabbed Andrew's hand. "But with Rachel's improvement, and this settlement, I think we're fine now."

"What are you getting at?" Andrew questioned.

"What we're saying, " his mother said, "Is that we are happy and proud that you put your life on hold to help the family out, but now it's time to move on with your own life. We want you to move to Dallas and work with Uncle Bob. We've already talked to him, and he's as excited to finally have you there as you are to go."

"But," stammered Andrew.

"No 'buts', young man, it's time for you to go. We'll be fine," Ned said.

Tears welling in his eyes, Andrew hugged them both. When he pulled away, though, Rachel noticed a sad look on his face.

"What's wrong, baby," she said.

"I just realized that Chris won't be there." And suddenly, Dallas and his dream job didn't look like so much fun.

Later that night, Andrew sat on the patio drinking a beer and staring into space. After the bombshells of the night, including a call from his uncle who promised him help finding an apartment and an advance on his salary to get settled, he was in a weird state. He would definitely miss his family, but he was glad to be starting out on what he thought of as his real life, but it didn't seem right to embark on the next phase without Chris. As Andrew sipped the beer, he realized that somehow since living with Chris last year, all his future plans included his friend and roommate. He noticed his phone buzzing. It was Chris. Swallowing the last of the beer, Andrew answered.

"What's that racket?" Rachel asked Ned, startled by the loud yells coming from the back yard. They opened the sliding doors to find Andrew standing there, his chair and empty bottle knocked over in his excitement, a hug smile plastering his face.

"What's all the commotion, son?" Ned asked.

"Chris called. The business is finally back on it's feet, and ..." Andrews paused for breath,, "He's planning to move to Dallas next month!" He grabbed them both, planting huge kisses on their cheeks, before running downstairs. Rachel watched him go with a knowing smile on her lips.

The last few weeks in Gainesville had been busy for Andrew has he prepared for his move, but with his mother's return to health and the ending of the school year for Brandon and the twins, he had more free time to indulge in some long conversations with Chris. They mainly talked about their plans for the future, such as what apartment to rent-they eventually decided to stick with the complex they had picked out last year-but they talked about other things as well. Eventually, Chris told Andrew about his conversation with his dad about the move.

""You know my dad and I haven't really been that close, especially since I came out," Chris said.

"I know that's what you said."

"Well-I think he wanted a different kind of son, you know, athletic, outgoing, straight."

"Don't all fathers?"

"I guess. But anyway, this last year has been different. We had to spend a lot of time together at work, and we even started lifting weights together in the evening."

"Wait...you, Mr. Elliptical, Mr. Cardio are lifting weights?" Andrews said.

"Yes, smart ass, I have been lifting weights. To get back to my story, we've been getting along pretty well, so I was a little surprised the other day when he asked him to come into his study to talk. Let's just say, usually an invitation to talk with my dad in his study means he wants to lecture me on my failings without my mother hearing. Anyway, I'm racking my brains trying to think what I've screwed up lately. Then he must have notice I looked worried because he told to relax, that he had good news."

"What was it?" Andrew asked.

"If your impatient ass would quit interrupting, I could tell you. Well, the news was that he had gotten this major contract he had been hoping for. The deposit is huge and will put the business back on track. That's when he actually tells me how proud is of me for how hard I worked, and that he wants me to Dallas like I had planned, and that he will happily pay my rent for 6 months or until I get a job. Then, when I go to thank him, he tells me that it's not a gift, I earned it, and while he appreciates my thanks, it's unnecessary."

"Damn, it's like a Hallmark movie. Or a made for tv Lifetime movie."

"You are such an asshole," Chris laughed "But you're right. I'm cool with that as long as Ryan Phillippe plays me."

"Dude, he's like 40."

"But he's still hot. I see your point though. I'll settle for Zac Efron."

************

As finally hit the outskirts of Dallas, Andrew started feeling a bit anxious about seeing Chris. It was his mother's fault. After he had said his goodbye to the rest of the family, she asked to see him alone in the kitchen.

"Before you head, out I have a request for you," she said looking very serious.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Before I tell you that, I want to tell you about the day I eloped with your dad."

"Come on mom, we all know the story. Your parents didn't want you to get married, you were too young, etc., but you and dad snuck away and eloped on your 18th birthday and you lived happily ever after," Andrew said.

"True, but that's not the whole story. I've never even told your dad this part. I almost didn't meet him," she said.

"What?" Andrew exclaimed.

"Well, I was very young and very frightened, and my parents kept telling me that getting married so young was a mistake and that I would be ruining not only my life, but your fathers. After months of hearing that, I was starting to think they were right. So there I was sitting in the car and I had actually reached for the ignition to turn the engine off and go back in the house when our song came on the radio. It was the song that was playing at the prom when your dad told me that he loved me, and I realized he was the one for me. That's what gave me the courage to put the car in gear and go to Ned. I realized that I might be making a mistake and screwing up our lives but I would rather risk that than regret never having tried."

"That's so sweet," Andrew said, "But what's the request?"

"I try not to meddle too much in your life, especially your love life, but I think Chris means more to you than you let on, maybe even more than you know. My request is that if you think, even for a moment, that he is the one, I want you to promise me that you'll act on your feeling. Don't let fear stop you from trying." She stared at him, her hazel boring into his brown ones.